I want to give you an opportunity to understand what gynecological cosmetic surgery is all about.

First, it's seldom about appearances. Most of the time, gynecological plastic surgery is about comfort. As mentioned in my first post, many women have discomfort that warrants a surgical intervention. While the part of their anatomy in question may also look better after the procedure, the initial goal was to create a more comfortable body.

Today let's discuss clitoral reduction.

Surprisingly, an abnormally enlarged or elongated clitoris is not very common and is usually a result of certain inherited genetic disorders, but occasionally may occur as a result of certain masculinizing hormone medications or may occur after giving birth. Women bodybuilders, in particular, can experience an enlarged or elongated clitoris if they are using steroids to promote muscle growth. Unfortunately, while muscle development may be the result, an enlongated or enlarged clitoris is often a side effect. This often proves to be enormously embarrassing or unsightly or uncomfortable.

Clitoral Hood Removal surgery is also a reason for clitoral plastic surgery for many women, if the clitoral hood interferes with sexual arousal and pleasure. Some women have found that by removing the clitorial hood, or reducing it, sexual pleasure is enhanced.

The clitoral reduction procedure is performed as an outpatient procedure--you come in for the procedure and leave the same day. In our office in Boca Raton, we have our own accredited surgical suite. If you are working with a surgeon elsewhere, he or she may have their own office-based surgery or they may use a hospital operating room.

The procedure is usually done under general anesthesia, though we can also use IV sedation or even local anesthesia, depending on your preference. Using delicate nerve and sensation-sparing cosmetic surgery, the clitoris is restored to normal size and appearance. There are no sutures to remove as those used are absorbed.

Postoperatively, discomfort is minimal to moderate for 48 hours and healing is usually complete in three to four weeks. During the 3-4 weeks of recovery we recommend that you abstain from stimulating the clitoris to avoid trauma.

I hope you plan to join us on Thursday, November 20th, at 8 PM EST, for our first webinar about gynecological plastic surgery. If you have an interest in attending, please send us an email at vaginadoc@gmail.com and we'll send you the log-in instructions.

To your health,
Alan Gibstein, MD

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

My name is Dr. Alan Gibstein. I am a board certified gynecologist/obstetrician originally from New York, now practicing in Boca Raton and Miami,FL.

Throughout my career in New York, I saw many women who suffered with gynecological problems that, although not functional but primarily cosmetic, were quite embarrassing. These women were completely unaware that anything could be done to fix problems such as very large or uneven (ie, one labum larger than the other) labia. Women may be embarrassed to reveal that elongated, enlarged or uneven labia can become swollen or painful if pulled inward during sex or during exercise. An overly large clitoris (that one sounds like a benefit, I know, but wearing slacks,bathing suit, riding a bike, etc, may be very uncomfortable, so it's not as great as you might think.) For a select group of women,restoration of the hymen can be critical to a chance at happiness which otherwise would not be open to them. Hymen restoration is safe and effective and essentially undetectable.

Many women came to me for help in their late 50s (or even their mid 80s), because they had not had intercourse for 5-10 years, either due to a sick or deceased husband (or the simple lack of opportunity), they had finally met someone with whom they wanted to have a sexual relationship but, much to their surprise and dismay, they found that their vagina had become too narrow for comfortable sex! I remember one woman saying to me, "I finally have a chance for some sex, he's got Viagra and I'm tight as a 12 year old virgin!" Although it seems funny to read, it was quite upsetting to her. Fortunately, I performed a procedure that took care of that problem and, to my knowledge, she had terrific sex well into her later years.

Some of you may have heard of the "mommy" operation, improperly called "rejuvenation," which can restore the pelvic floor anatomy, stretched by childbirth or years of straining. Some have criticized this procedure as unnecessary but it works, is safe and re-creates a lot of happy women.

I'll be writing about these kinds of concerns on this blog. Please come back to read and learn, and feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance to you.

Best wishes,
Dr. G